A criminal case was filed against the then opposition leader in 2019, alleging that he tried to lure JD(S) MLA Naganagouda Kandkur to the BJP by offering money and a ministerial berth.
While NIA has claimed that the activists have ties with Maoists, members of civil society have alleged that this is a targeted witch-hunt.
Afzal Ansari, the elder brother of Mukhtar Ansari, recently claimed that all the cases filed against the mafia don-turned-politician were false and he will be released soon.